Highlights from New York Fashion Week Fall 2009 RTW Friday February 13th!

Even though there is a recession and the media has been constantly highlighting the lack of designers present at fashion week, there are still a vast array of talented designers to talk about! I have selected a few of my favorites from Friday's shows. I have to say that I was rather disappointed with several well known designers though. Some of the collections looked forced and rather uninspiring. Many of the pieces were too tight or ill fitting! Many of the collections were very small and only featured a few pieces. It seems though, that in times like these, designers are focusing on creating a smaller amount of memorable pieces that will likely sell well in the market. I was rather disappointed with Rag and Bone: I thought their collection was cool and featured a lot of different textures and layers but nothing really stood out for me. Charlotte Ronson was also a bit of a letdown. While it did feature cool cutouts and lots of leather, it was missing the punch! Halston featured some funky colors and cuts but the pants suits just didn't work! Peter Som has had some bad luck in the past year, having lost his financial backing. WWD wrote that his collection would inspire a girl to spend, I just didn't feel that way. I thought there were too many crazy patterns paired together and the shapes were just not flattering. What did you think of Friday's shows. Were you disappointed with any collections this season? I don't want to dwell on my disappointments, I want to highlight those that stood out! I am doing a complete separate post for the designer of the day which was fellow Canadian and Vancouverite Jason Wu. He presented a collection that was future forward, inspiring and colorful. His care and attention to detail are very evident in all of his pieces, however I will talk about his work in a separate post.

NIMA

The Nima collection only featured a few looks but they were well designed and unique. I loved how they played with lines and bold colors. Perhaps it is because I am drawn to black. I love the shape of this LBD (left), with cute sleeves and a gold belt to give it a bit of punch. I also loved this black and white number (right) which featured a cool neckline and great cut. Would you wear this look? I wasn't able to find very much information about this house. They don't seem to have a website! Please let me know if you have any information about this label!

Nicole Miller

What a great collection by Nicole Miller. It was full of cool and refreshing patterns. The cuts are simple but flattering and would definitely stop people in the streets! I loved this little coat number (left) with red booties. It would be a great fall number. The spidermanesque dress on the right could be worn with tights or jeans. Her influence has steadily been growing over the past few years with stars like Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry and Felicity Huffman wearing her pieces! You can visit her website and store here for more information.

Vibrant blue, a great collar styled with a
fab pair of boots and a belt!

Super sparkling dress number
featuring immaculate lines!

Morgane Le Fay

Morgane Le Fay's collection consisted of versatile day and evening wear pieces styled with shiny leather boots. Designer Liliana Casabel incorporated some eye catching draping techniques as well as contrasting black and whites! The silhouettes were classic, yet the draping gave them a modern and sophisticated feel. Her website currently appears to be down but you can visit it here.

Love this vibrant blue draped dress!

Bensoni

This season, Bensoni's collection was short, casual (in presentation) and sweet but there were plenty of memorable pieces! Designer's Benjamin Channing Clyburn and Sonia Yoon stated that they wanted to create a few very special pieces. The inspiration for this collection is "The Story of O" by French writer Anne Desclos, published in the 1950's. I loved the prints in this collection. Don't you love the printed dress on the right? LIPS! You can visit their website here for more information.

BCBG Max Azria

This collection was definitely one of the top collections presented on Friday. BCBG Max Azria never fails to disappoint. Sky high platforms, cool lines and shimmery tights created a futuristic effect for the collection. The color palette was really unique and featured many very wearable pieces. There were no pant suits or over sized jackets, just great dresses! WWD thought that the tights outshone the collection but I thought they gave the collection a punch! You can visit the website here for more information.

Purple!!

White was prominent in this collection as well.

Arise African Fashion Collective

This collection was full of color and fun. There were many exciting prints that emphasized tradition from a modern perspective. The show consisted of a group of individual designers combining their work into one presentation. Alek Wek stole the show in this beautiful orange gown by Nikhensani Manganyl. Other designers included: Folake Akindele, Malian Lamine Badian Kouyate and Fati Asibelua. Isn't this dress a stunner?

Academy of Art University

The Academy of Art is a collection of several young graduate designer's work. There were many unique and inspiring looks but this white and grey jacket stood out above the rest. The shape and color scheme are marvelous! The white tights really give it a dramatic affect!

Abaete

Save the best for last? I am always inspired by Aebate's simple, yet elegant pieces. Last season the dresses were solid printed patterns with the infamous colored tights. This season the tights were not as prominent but the dresses were bold and full of flattering lines and elegant dresses and jackets. They seem to stick with classic lines and it always works. While a lot of designers are focusing on tattered and draped looks, these clean cut dresses are refreshing! Designer Laura Poretsky created this line based on 18th century French Dandies. You can visit their website here.

This one shouldered dress
and skirt are magnificent!

A Tokyo Fashion Week Update!

I received my first invitation to Japan Fashion Week today. It is for the young generation show on Monday March 23rd and features five new talents in one time slot! I am really excited that I will get to highlight new talent. While we are all drawn to our favorites, we tend to focus on them and forget the new talent! This is the case at New York Fashion Week as well. For instance, a few of the designers that I was not aware of, only had short captions about their collections on WWD. This could possibly be because I am not a member. I am not sure but I think that everyone deserves a solid review. What do you think? Nevertheless I love the layout and design of the WWD website so I cannot complain. No one has commented on whether they prefer WWD to Style.com. Please let me know. I would love to hear your feedback!